Knitting needle and method of use



my 99 w v. LOMBARDI KNIT-TING NEEDLE AND METHOD OF USE Filed uaroh 8,19s? 2 Sheets-Sheet l l//7 Vpn/far.'

, V/bcenl July i9, '1938. v. LoMBARDn 2,124,305

' KNITTING NEEDLE AND METHOVD OF U$E Filed March 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet2 j la Patented July 19, 1938 "UNITED STATES v I 2,124,305 v KNITTINGNEEDLE AND METHOD or UsE Vincent Lombardi, Garden City, N. Y., assignorto Lombardi Knitting Machine Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application March s, 1937, seal No. 129,558

14 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in knitting machines and haslparticular reference to a knitting needle and associated parts, and themethod of using the same. l An object of the invention is to control thefeeding of a yarn to a latched type needle especlally suitable for usein fine gauge knitting machines, by utilizing a portion of the needle topositively guide a yarnfed thereto, during advancement of the needle,into a position in which said yarn will enter the hook of the needlewhen the latter is retracted. Another object is to insure the entranceof guided yarn into the hook of the needle by exertin'g a pull luponsaid yarn to tauten the same against the portion of the needle which isused to guide the yarn.

A further object is to utilize the yarn being guided by a needlepreparatory to its entrance into the hook of the. latter, to open `thelatch of said needle when said latch is closed during certain operatingconditions of the needle. 'I'he aboveand other objects will appear moreclearly fromJ the following detailed description, when taken inconnection with the accompany-l ingdrawings, which illustrate preferredembodiments of the inventive idea; but it will be expresslyunderstood-that said drawings are employed merely for purposes ofillustration and in section, Villustrating certain operations in thefeed of a yarn to one of the needles with the 45 latter in one stage o fits advancement.

Figure 2b is a similar view showing the vneedle y ata further point inits advancement, the dotted lines'indicating the position of the needleafter it has caught the yarn and has been fully re- 50 tracted. Figure2c is a similar view showing the needle at an advanced position whereinthe new yarn has been guided to a position in which it will I f enterthe hook of the needle upon retraction of 65 the latter.

not to define ,the limits of the invention, reference being had to theappended claims for' this Figure 3 is a fragmentary diagrammatic topplan `view showing the relation of the parts as illustrated in Figure2a.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2b showing l the manner in which anew yarn is drawn against 6 the guiding portion of theneedle by means ofa dial needle, instead of the sinker illustrated in the latter figure,and

Figures 5 to 9, inclusive,.are elevations of various modified forms of apivoted latch needle ccnl l0 structed in accordance with the invention.

' Brleily,the accomplishment of the above 'objects in connection with aneedle of the pivoted latch type is to provide the needle with a hookhaving a deep bight made by extending the bill l5 of the needle hook toform an elongated yarnguiding portion with which a yarn is engagedduring a substantial part of the total range ofV advancement of saidneedle, or until thev yarn is at a point in close proximity to theinnerend of the shank of said hook. Should the latch of the needle beclosed during said period of advancement, as for instance when theneedle has not formed a loop atits previous operation, the guidedv yarnwill become effective to open said latch by an initial engagement withthe free end thereof.

It is desirableto insure the engagement of the yarn with said guidedportion of the hook, and its subsequent entrance into said hook when theneedle is retracted. This may be done by exerting a pull uponl the yarnso as to'tauten the same against the guiding surface of said hook. *l Tothis end, use is preferably made of a separate instrumentality such as asinker or a cooperating dial needle so controlled as to engage the yarnduring its contact with said guiding surface, and exert a pull upon thesame in the direction of feed of the fabric being knitted until the yarnis in position to enter the hook during retraction.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1, in 40 which the knittinginstrumentalities necessary to an understanding of the present inventionare 'schematically shown, I0 indicates generally a series of cylinderneedlesv of the pivoted latch type and embodying -characteristicfeatures of this invention. In the customary manner, these needles aredisposed on the cylinder Il (Figure 2) of a knitting machine between thesinkers I2 and are controlled by the usual cams I3, I4 and I5, andabutments IS, I'Il which rotate to advance 50 and retract the needlesduring a sequence of operation thereof by engagement of the cams withthe butts I 8 of the needles. A rotating yarn guide I9 of the usual typefeeds a new yarnv 20 to the needles ,.preparatory'to the formation'of 55loops in said yarn and the casting of said loops at the termination ofsaid sequence of operation. Figure 1 shows, at the right hand endthereof. an arbitrary condition of the needles at the beginning of thesequence of operation, in which the latches of all of the needles areclosed and the hook of each alternate needle has engaged a yarn 22previously fed thereto. This particular condition of the needles Willproduce certain pattern effects in the fabric being knitted but it willbe understood, of course, that such condition may be Varied to obtainother patterns in the knitted fabric without departing from the spiritor scopje of the present invention which resides primarily in theconstruction of the needle itself, the manner of feeding the yarnthereto, and the control of the needle and yarn during the knittingoperation. In the position mentioned at the beginning of the sequence,the sinkers I2 are advanced by their control element 23 (Figure 2b) toengage the formed loops of certain of the needles and perform theirusualvfunction in the operation of knitting the fabric, and said sinkersremain in the advanced position until after the needles have beenpartially advanced by the surface 24 of the cam I3 from which the buttsof the needles pass to the surface 25 of said vcam as the latterrotates. During the engagement with said surface 25, the sinkers I2 areretracted and thereafter advanced again, preparatory to accomplishingone of the novel results of the present invention, as will hereinafterappear.

At this point, a detailed description of one of the needles which may beemployed to carry out certain features of the invention will facilitatean understanding of the knitting operation, and more particularly thefeeding of the yarn to the needle. By reference to the form of needleshown in Figure 5, which embodiment is also illustrated in Figures 1 to4 inclusive, it will beseen that the needle comprises the usual shank 26and cheek 21 to which is pivoted the latch 28 of known construction,except that said latch is shorter in length than that of the ordinarypivoted latch needle. From the cheek 21 extends the shank of the needlehook 29. Contrary to the usual formation of needle hook in which theextremity of the hook terminates contiguous to the bight thereof, thepresent hook has its bight 30 extended in the direction of the other endof the needle in substantial parallel relation to the shank of the hook,to provide an elongated bill 3 I The -length of this bill may be varied,but it is preferable to extendthe same to a pointat least approximatingone-half the distance from .the bight30 to the pivot of the latch 28 sothat the free extremity of the bill will be disposed adjacent the innerend of the shank of the needle hook. This elongatedY bill provides ayarn-guiding portion on the needle which is effective to positivelyguide the yarn 20 during a substantial portion of the period of,advancement of the needle and preparatory to the entrance of said yarninto the hook 29 when the needle' is retracted. Preferably,

the exterior surface of said bill or guiding portion is utilized to soguide the yarn; and after said yarn has been fed to the needle and while'the latter is being advanced, the yarn is drawn or tautened againstsaid surface in a manner to later appear so that its continuedengagement and consequentguidance will be insured until the yarn is inposition to enter the needle hook. The latch 28, when in its closedposition, also cooperates with the bill 3I in guiding the yarn into thehook when the latter has no previously formed loi p 'said surface 36.

will combine to form an entrance 32 for the yarn.

By reason of the length of the bill 3l, the angle of the latch 28relative to said bill is materially increased over that existing in theordinary type of needle, thus proportionately increasing the effectivewidth of said entrance, and, in order to insure-that the latter will beat all ltimes sufliciently Wide to receive said yarn, the extremity 33of the bill may be bent outwardly so that when the latch is engagedtherewith said entrance will be made wider because of the increase inthe angle of the latch.

The effective width of the entrance 32 may be increased in various otherways such as disclosed in Figures 6 and 7. In Figure 6, the desiredresult is attained by curving the extremity of the bill 3| inwardly asindicated at 34 to space the bill farther from the latch end; while inFigure '7, the material of the bill itself is reduced in thickness, asindicated at 35. In all of the forms illustrated,vit is apparent that asthe free end of the latch approaches the yarn 20 during advancement ofthe needle, saidyarn Will pass into the entrance 32 and engage saidlatch. Continuedadvance of the needle then causes the yarn to swing thelatch toward its open position and, after passing the extremity of thehook 3|, said yarn will be partially guided by the latch during theopening movement of the latter and will ultimately engage over thelatch, as shown in Figure 2c, or contact with the shank of the hook 29,depending upon the degree of advancement of the needle. In either case,the yarn will be positioned to enter the hook upon retraction thereof.

Reverting now to Figure 1 and the previously described position of theneedles in which the same vhave been partially advanced so that theirbutts are engaged between the abutment IB and the surface 25 of the cam`I3, each needle remains in this position until it is engaged by thesurface 36 of said cam to be further advanced thereby. In this partiallyadvanced stage, those alternate needles the hooks of which are engagedwith a yarn 22 previously fed thereto, are in a position wherein saidyarn contacts the inner ends of the latches preparatory to swinging thesame to open position when the needle is further advanced by The otheralternate needles whose hooks are not engaged with a yarn, also havetheir latches closed and, together with the first-named needles, areready to have the new yarn 20 fed thereto by engagement of the yarn withthe elongated bills 3I that act to guide said yarn to a position toenter the hooks during a subsequent operation. Upon being advanced tothe position described, the control element 23 becomes effective toprogressively retract the sinkers I2 to positions a and b indicatedalong the surface 25 of the cam I3. In the three right hand positions ofthe series indicated by the character c, the sinkers are fullyretracted` and in the next succeeding c position the sinker therein hasagain started to advance. The fully retracted and first advancedpositions of the sinkers are indicated by the two positions thereof atthe left of Figure 2a.

^ yarn will be guided downwardly a slight distance along the exteriorsurface of the bill 3| of each succeeding needle. At the fourth sinkerposition indicated in the group c, the sinker therein has been advancedto the second position from the left shown in Figure 2a, and in the nexttwo sinker l positions of group c the sinkers therein will be advancedto the third and fourth positions of Figure 2a. In the third position ofthe latter igure, which corresponds to the fifth position of group c inFigure 1, the sinker has advanced sunieiently for the inner end -of itsupper hook 3l to have engaged the yarn 2li directly behind the needleshown in Figure 2a and a pull is thereupon exerted upon the yarn in `thedirection of the feed of the fabric being knitted yto tauten said yarnagainst the bill 3l and thus insure engagement therewith. Continuedadvance of the sinker to the sixth position `of group c (Figure 1)', andto the equivalent extreme right hand position of Figure 2a, maintainsthe yarn in its tautened condition and this condition continues untilthe sinkers are retracted,;.as will hereinafter more fully appear. -Theneedle located between the sixth sinker of group c and the nextsucceeding sinker to the left, is one which has formed a loop from theyarn 22 and this yarn is indicated in Figure 2a as being positioned inthe lower hook 3B of the right hand sinker and in position to open thelatch of the needle behind the one shown in said figure.

The next needle to the left ofl group c, indicated at position d ofFigure 1, is the same needle that is illustrated in Figure 2b. In thisposition, the needle has again started its advance by engagement of itsbutt with Jthe cam surface 36 and this movement of the needle causes theyarn 20, now held taut by an advanced sinker, to be guided further alongthe bill 3l of the needle hook and toward the free end of the latch 28,with the yarn just about to pass into the entrance 32.l The advance ofthe needle continues to position e y (also shown in Figure 2c) andduring this movement and until the latter position is reached, the yarnis maintained taut by the advanced sinkers. Also during this interval,loops 22 of alternate needles open the latches thereof and pass onto theShanks of said needles preparatory to the casting operation, While theyarn 2E, engaging and being guided by the bills of the other needles,contacts the free ends of the latches of the latter needlesto open thesame, and then engages the latches substantially as shown in Figure 2cwherein the yarn is in position to enter the hook of each needle whenthe latter is retracted. Be-

yond position e, each needle'contacts the surface 39 of the cam It,whereupon retraction of the needle begins and continues until the lowpoint of the cam It is reached. At the start of this retractingmovement, as at position f, the sinkers are withdrawn and thereafter theyarn 20 enters the hook of each needle. At position g, each needle isfully retracted and those which carried a previously formed loop havetheir latches closed by reason of the casting of said loop, while thelatches of the other needles have been opened by the yarn 2li. When thecam I4 passes the fully retracted needle, the latter is engaged by thecam I5 to partially advance the'needle and, at the same time, thesinkers I2 are again advanced to receive in their lower hooks 38, in theusual manner, the loops formed in the yarns, :as shown in dotted linesin Figure 2b. Before the cam I3 again reaches the position shown inFigure 1 to initiatey another vsequence of operation, the open latchesof the alternate needles shown at the left of said gure may be closed byany suitable means known in the art, whereupon the needles are readyfora repetition of the operation herein described.

Instead of employing the sinkers to control the tautening of the yarn'against the hook bills 3|, the same result may be accomplished by othermeans such as the dial needle 40 illustrated in Figure 4. In thisinstance, the needle 40 may be of the same type as the associatedcylinder needles I and controlled, in a Well-known manner, to engage itshook with the yarn 2U to tauten the latter during 'the intervalspreviously described in connection with the sinkers I2. A known methodof so controlling said needle Il), is partially shown in Fig. 4 asincluding a rotating cam ring 40a having the cam 40h thereon whichengages the butt of the needle to tighten the yarn againstthe bill 3l ofthe cylinder needle 26 which is likewise controlled by the cam 40e thatraises said needle to open the latch 28 to thin-etw engage the yarn inthe hook.

hooks of the ordinary type of pivoted latch needles, such diilicultyresiding in the inability to avoid undue gathering or wrinkling of theyarn and its inadvertent detachment from the needle hook. The needles d2of Figures -and 9I lmay embody some of the characteristic features ofthe needles Iii. Thus in Figure 8, the hook 43 is provided with a curvedbight 'dd which is extended to form the yarn-guiding bill d5 somewhatsimilar to the bill 3l of the previously described needles. In orderthat the yarn di,

.upon entering the hook, may be accommodated therein without unduewrinkling or gathering, the bight `lid is made of such width as toseparate the bill d5 from the shank of the lhook 43 a suflcient distanceto permit the yarn to lie iiatly against said bight and between saidbill and shank during retraction of the needle. By

increasing the distance vbetween said bill. and

shank, the pivoted latch et has its angular relation to the needle shankcorrespondingly increased when it engages the extremities of said bill,As a consequence, the entrance di formed by the latch and bill-issufficiently wide to insure v entry of the yarn di into the same. whenthe needle is advanced.

In Figure 9, the needle shank 158 is again provided with a bight d@which, in this instance, is- -f fiat as distinguished from thecurved'bight M. Extending from the bight lid and directed inwardlytoward th'e needle shank is' the yarngulding portion of the bill 50having its free extremity 5i turned outwardly to widen the entrancebetween the same and the free end of the5 latch 52, this arrangementbeing the same as that disclosed in Figure 5. Again, -as in Figure 8,

the width of the -bight 49 is such that the yarn l in the hook may beaccommodated therein in a vsubstantially flat condition.

It will be obvious from the foregoing descripneedles since the samemethod may be employed in conjunction with dial needles, as suggested inFigure 4,.without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knitting machine, a knitting needle of the pivoted latchtypecomprising a shank, a .latch pivoted thereto, a hook on said shankhaving a bill engageable by a yarn fed to said needle and being of alength to guide said yarn during a substantial portion of the period ofadvancement of said needle, and means to tauten said yarn against saidbill while the yarn is being guided.

2. In a knitting machine, a knitting needle of the pivoted latch typecomprising a shank, a latch pivoted thereto, and a hook on said shankhaving a bill engageable by a yarn fed to said needle and being of alength to guide said yarn during a substantial portion of the period ofadvancement of said needle, and a sinker oper- Aable to maintain saidyarn in a tautened condition while it is being guided by said bill.

3. In a knitting machine, a knitting needle of the pivoted latch typecomprising a shank, a latch pivoted thereto, a hook on the end of saidshank adjacent said latch and having a yarnguiding portion engageable bythe free end of said latch and of alerigth to guide a yarn during asubstantial portion of the period of advancement of said needle anduntil the opening of said latch is initiated by engagement of the yarntherewith, said guiding portion and the free end of said latchcombining, when the latter is closed, to form an entrance for said yarninto said hook, and said guiding portion having means cooperating withsaid latch to maintain said en-y trance of sufficient width to receivesaid yarn, and means to tauten said yarn against said guiding portionduring said portion of the advancement of the needle.

4. In a knittingmachine, a knitting needle of the pivoted latch typecomprising a shank, a latch pivoted thereto, and a hook on the end ofsaid shank adjacent said latch and 'having a yarn-guiding portionengageable by the free end of said latch and of a length to guide a yarnduring a substantial portion of the period of advancement of said needleand until the opening of said latch is initiated by engagement of theyarn therewith, said guiding portion and the free end of said latchcombining, when the latter is closed, to form an entrance for said yarninto said hook, and said guiding portion having its free extremitycurved at a point contiguous to the free end of said latch so as tocooperate therewith to widen said entrance sufficiently to receive saidyarn, and means to tauten said yarn against said guiding portion duringsaid portion of the advancement of the needle.

5. In a knitting machine. a plurality of needles of the pivoted latchtype having elongated hook bills constituting guiding surfaces for ayarn being fedto said needles, means to ad` gated hook billsconstituting guiding surfaces for a yarn being fed to said needles,means to advance and retract said needles to form loops in said yarn andto engage said surfaces therewith during a substantial period of theadvancement of the needles, and sinkers each having a pair of hooksthereon, one of said hooks engaged with a, previously formed loop on aneedle during advancement of the latterV and said sinker, and the otherhook engaging said yarn, during said advancement, to tauten the sameagainst the guiding surface of an adjacent needle.

'7. In a knitting machine, groups of cylinder and dial needles of thepivoted latch type having elongated hook bills forming guiding surfacesfor a yarn being fed to said needles, means to advance and retract saidneedles to form loops in said yarn, and means to operate one of saidgroups of needles during a substantial portion of the advancement of theother group to tauten said yarn against the guiding surfaces of thelatter group.

8. In a knitting machine, groups of cylinder and dial needles of thepivoted latch type having elongated hook billsv forming guiding surfacesfor a yarn being fed to said needles, means to advanceand retract saidneedles to form loops in said yarn, and means to operate said group ofdial needles to tauten said yarn against the guiding surfaces of saidcylinder needles during a substantial portion of the advance of thelatter needles. l

9. In a knitting machine, groups of cylinder and dial needles of thepivoted latch type having elongated hook bills forming guiding surfacesfor a yarn being fed to said needles, means to advance and'retract saidneedles to form loops in said yarn,` and means to retract one of saidgroups of needles during a substantial portion ofthe advancement of theother group of needles to tauten said yarn against the guiding surfacesof the latter group.

10. The method of knitting with a needle of the pivoted latch typehaving a long hook, which comprises utilizing a surface of the hook ofsaid needle, during advancement thereof, to guide a yarn fed thereto toa position wherein said yarn will enter the hook during retraction ofsaid needle, and employing an instrumentality other than the needle totauten said yarny against said surface during the period in which theyarn is being guided.

1 1. The method of knitting with a needle of the pivoted latch typehaving a long hook, which comprises utilizing an exterior surface of thehook of said needle, during advancement of the latter, to guide a yarnfed thereto into a position to entersaid hook, and feeding said yarn toother means cooperating with the needle to tauten said yarn against saidsurface during the period in which the yarn is being guided.

12. The method of knitting a fabric 'with needles of the pivoted latchtype having a long hook, which comprises feeding a yarn from a yarn feedmovable relative to said needles onto an outer surface of the hook ofone of said needles, utilizing said surface to guide said yarn towardthe free extremity of said hook during advancement of said needle,opening the latch of said needle with said yarn, and exerting a pullupon saidyarn in the direction of feed of the lfabric beingl knitted soas to tauten the yarn against said surface and position the same tolatter has passed said yarn during advancement of the needle. l

13. The method of knitting' with a needle of the pivoted latch typehaving a hook with a ,deep blight, which comprises feedingy a yarn to asurface f the'hook of said needle while the latter is held in a`stationary position, utilizing said surface to guide said yarn duringsubsequent advancement of the needle, and tautening said yarn againstsaid surface while the yarn is being guided.

aisance l 14. The method or knitting with @plurality c, needles of thepivoted latch type each having a hook with a deep bight, which comprisesfeeding` a passing yarn to a surface of the hook of each of saidneedles, utilizing said surface to guide said yarn to a position whereit will enter said hook during retraction of the needle, and tauteningsaid yarn against the said surfaces of the various needles while theyarn is being guided.l

VINCENT normanni. s

